
E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, L. N. Yaddanapudi,
The story opens with the starship Procyon preparing for departure, its massive hull humming as it lifts off under a one‑and‑a‑half‑gravity boost. Passengers are warned to stay seated, yet a young woman named Barbara Warner can’t resist testing the altered weight. She launches into a daring acrobatic routine that leaves the crew astonished, proving she can move as if the pull of the planet were gone. Her playful defiance sets the tone for a voyage where curiosity and courage collide.
Meanwhile, First Officer Carlyle Deston monitors an array of panels, his steady hands and keen eyes tracking every flicker of data as the ship slips into the unknown. The narrative follows the crew’s preparations and the early moments of travel, hinting at a hidden danger that no survivor has yet reported. As the Procyon plunges deeper into subspace, the passengers must confront a reality where the rules of physics—and human endurance—are being rewritten.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (74K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2007-05-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1890–1965
A pioneering storyteller of giant starships, galactic wars, and world-spanning adventure, he helped define what readers now think of as space opera. His fast-moving tales made the universe feel enormous, dangerous, and thrillingly full of possibility.
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